Hi All
This issue has been irking me for days
http://www.news.com.au/entertainmen...t-rip-off-ruling/story-e6frfn09-1225826972739
Many of you know the song "Down Under" by Australian Band Men at Work. It's also become a quasi national anthem especially at sporting events. There's a flute riff in it that if you listen carefully sounds like "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree" which was a round written for a Girl Guides competition many years ago. The author of that round passed in 1988. 4 years ago, Larrikin music - backed by a London company Music Sales Group, which, on its own website, states that it "owns, manages and exploits over 200,000 music copyrights. It is also Europe's largest printed music publisher" bought the rights to "Kookaburra" Exploit being the operative word here.
If you listen to the riff - it does sound like the Kookaburra melody, all 11 notes of it.
This week an Australian judge ruled that Men at work ripped off the song, despite the fact that "Down under" was written 2 years earlier and performed in pubs sans flute.
For this, the stand up guys at Larrikin music - who describe their victory as "one for the underdog" want 40-60% of the royalties from a 3 second flute riff in a 3 minute song.
Here's Colin Hay's (Men at Work lead vocals, songwriter) response to the ruling
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...nt-make-me-laugh/story-e6frezz0-1225826872936
So - watch what you play boys and girls, stand up guys who "exploit copyright" might hunt you down in 30 years
The greed in this world is, well just sad :x
This issue has been irking me for days
http://www.news.com.au/entertainmen...t-rip-off-ruling/story-e6frfn09-1225826972739
Many of you know the song "Down Under" by Australian Band Men at Work. It's also become a quasi national anthem especially at sporting events. There's a flute riff in it that if you listen carefully sounds like "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree" which was a round written for a Girl Guides competition many years ago. The author of that round passed in 1988. 4 years ago, Larrikin music - backed by a London company Music Sales Group, which, on its own website, states that it "owns, manages and exploits over 200,000 music copyrights. It is also Europe's largest printed music publisher" bought the rights to "Kookaburra" Exploit being the operative word here.
If you listen to the riff - it does sound like the Kookaburra melody, all 11 notes of it.
This week an Australian judge ruled that Men at work ripped off the song, despite the fact that "Down under" was written 2 years earlier and performed in pubs sans flute.
For this, the stand up guys at Larrikin music - who describe their victory as "one for the underdog" want 40-60% of the royalties from a 3 second flute riff in a 3 minute song.
Here's Colin Hay's (Men at Work lead vocals, songwriter) response to the ruling
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...nt-make-me-laugh/story-e6frezz0-1225826872936
So - watch what you play boys and girls, stand up guys who "exploit copyright" might hunt you down in 30 years
The greed in this world is, well just sad :x